The Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) of New Mexico has confirmed that it has approved a €65 million (US$69 million) commitment to an Antin's fund.

Antin Infrastructure Partners, an independent private equity firm focused on infrastructure investments, aims to raise €3 billion (US$3.19 billion) for its latest infrastructure fund.

The fund, Antin Infrastructure Partners III, will target mid-market investments in Europe. It is expected to reach a first close in December.

The 10-year fund will target investments in the range of €100 million (US$106 million) to €400 million (US$425 million). The types of infrastructure will include energy, telecommunications, transportation and social infrastructure. The fund does not hold any assets yet.

According to sources, it is rare for US public pension funds to make commitments to Europe-only infrastructure funds.

Uncertainty surrounding the UK’s anticipated withdrawal from the European Union has not dissuaded New Mexico PERA from investing in European infrastructure.

Kristin Varela, portfolio manager of real assets for New Mexico PERA, said:

“We think that this commitment will give us some strong diversification within our infrastructure portfolio.Most of our other managers have invested in large core assets. Antin has more of a value-add and mid-market kind of strategy.”

“We don’t believe that the Brexit situation will be impacting our interest in the fund and will still believe very strongly in the manager of the commingled fund.”

Antin Infrastructure Partners III follows on from two previous funds: Antin Infrastructure Partners I and Antin Infrastructure Partners II.

Antin Infrastructure Partners I was launch in 2008 and reached final close two years later. Among its investments, stands out Bina Istra, which operates 17 toll plazas on the 150km long Istrian Y motorway in Croatia​, or FPS Towers, the first independent telecom tower company in France.

Infrastructure Partners II, almost double the size of its predecessor. Launched in 2014, it reached final close on €2 billion in 2014. It portfolio includes GSR, which operates the long-term concessions providing exclusive rights to the commercial leasing and advertising spaces of the 14 largest Italian railway stations; Amedes, platforms for medical diagnostics in Germany, or Eurofiber, the largest independent provider of fixed telecom infrastructure dedicated to business customers (B2B) in the Netherlands.